NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 06/08/12 -- The Biotechnology Industry has shown investors some impressive gains this year. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) is up over 22 percent year-to-date. As large pharmaceuticals face major patent expirations in 2012 they have looked to biotech companies to provide new streams of revenue. A flurry of mergers & acquisitions activity and a growing number of FDA approvals have been contributing factors to the industry's recent boom. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Biotech Industry and provides equity research on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) and Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD).

"In 2011, the U.S. FDA approved 30 new drugs, compared to 21 in 2010. We see an improving trend for FDA first cycle approvals and a rise in the rate of new drug approvals for rare diseases. We think these trends are helping to boost investor sentiment toward the agency, after years of criticism stemming from its inconsistency in making and communicating its decisions," Steven Silver, S&P Capital IQ Analyst, said in a recent note.

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BioCryst shares jumped over 11 percent Wednesday as the company announced plans to present results of a Phase II study for its drug BCX4208 in the treatment of gout. Results from its BCX4208 gout program will be presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology hosted by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) in Berlin, Germany on June 7 & 8, 2012.

Threshold is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of drugs targeting tumor hypoxia, the low oxygen condition found in microenvironments of most solid tumors as well as the bone marrows of some hematologic malignancies. This approach offers broad potential to treat a variety of cancers. By selectively targeting tumor cells, Threshold is building a pipeline of drugs that hold promise to be more effective and less toxic to healthy tissues than conventional anticancer drugs. Shares of the company are up an astonishing 459 percent year-to-date.

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